Hey Everybody,
I was wondering how much of a boost is NMSF for admission purposes (top 20 colleges). I’ve heard that NMSF is really impressive and I’ve also heard that it’s nothing more than resume fodder that adcom don’t care much about, so I’m really confused. Please advise,
Thx
From what I’ve heard, NMSF isn’t used for admission only for merit scholarships.
It’s certainly a bullet point that you should put on an admissions application, and at many schools it would carry a little weight but given the depth of the gene pool at top 20 schools NM status in and of itself doesn’t do much for you at those universities.
As @kassh4 said, the primary benefit of achieving NMF status is merit scholarship opportunities. There are a lot of schools which offer smaller scholarships to NMFs (in the $500-$1K per year range), but there are some (Kentucky, Central Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc.) which offer full-ride/near full-ride scholarships so it’s a HUGE blessing for many families in the financial “doughnut hole”.
Bottom line…if top 20 schools are what you’re targeting then NMF status will do very little for you admissions-wise or financially. I would recommend that you at least look at the schools with large NM scholarships to see if any of them would be a possible fit for you. Given the odds of admission to top 20 schools that everyone faces, it would be a wise move to have a safety school with a great scholarship in your hip pocket in case your top choices don’t work out (admissions or financially).
Good Luck to you!! 
Being NMF may not impress adcoms at top 20 colleges. But not being NMF may make the adcoms wonder why.
I doubt an adcom at a top 20 school would give it a second thought if the applicant wasn’t NMF (results for Finalist status are announced after some admission decisions are made anyway). The SAT/ ACT scores are far more important than NM, but even then, an applicant needs more than high test scores at these schools.
I hope this thread draws a variety of replies from actual experience because this is a very legit question. And, I’m not implying opinions aren’t valuable (because there are some very informed posters here), just that it is difficult to find a consistent and/or official verdict on this topic so experiences may shed some much needed light. If it does have merit then it is worthwhile for juniors to prep for the PSAT.
Our experience: D applied as a NMSF (went on to Finalist and Scholar status). She had an overall strong application, no hooks. Her test scores were near perfect across the board, grades lower end of excellent for top schools, solid and unique ECs/leadership. She researched schools that seemingly placed a value on NM and it paid off. I’m not sure it would have had her overall app not been equally strong, but because it was, I think the NM ended up helping in certain schools. Results: no rejections, two full merit tuition (1 top 20, 1 top 25) in addition to NM money (so the schools that offered the little NM money ended up offering her a lot of money). At the rest of the schools (state flagships, safeties, etc.), mostly full tuition, one full ride, one no money.
My opinion based on this experience, is it absolutely “can” have “merit” depending on the rest of the application and the specific schools.
My hypothesis is that the schools that award money for NMF are the ones where NMSF status helps in admissions.
Yes @MatzoBall. That was our experience.
Also agree with @MatzoBall
Are there any schools in the top 20 that fit that criteria?
My son was a NMF and NM Scholar. I don’t think NM played any role in his acceptances.
Top 20 national (US News) that partner w/ NM:
Chicago
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Top 25:
Emory
USC
My daughter progressed to Scholar status last year. The designations for Finalist and Scholar come so late in the application cycle that I don’t see how they’d make much of a difference for admissions. NMSF is worth listing, but likely not a make or break for most admissions decisions.
The schools with big NMF programs are certainly interested though! You will feel like a superstar at OU…best tour ever!
I’d say that absence of NMSF status does not hurt anyone at selective schools (where applicants have high scores on other standardized tests). I work for a USNews Top 20 and our freshman class has far fewer than 10% NMFs (I’m fairly sure that’s pretty standard) – can’t say that lack of NM status had any adverse impact for those 90+ percent who weren’t SF.